Monday, February 21, 2005

I'm going to start adding a "favorite Podcasts" column on the left. And while I'm thinking about it, I'm going to try expanding my blogroll. Back to podcasting: It's great! If you haven't enjoyed any podcasts yet, report to www.Podcastalley.com for a tutorial and a wide array of excellent podcasts.

Friday, February 18, 2005

Speaking of nerdy space stuff, I just found this website that can show you the proportional speed and size of the orbit of some of the various moons of our solar system around their respective planets. And it moves!

Nick over at What Would Phoebe Do has This post reminding all of us that today is the 75th Anniversary of the discovery of Pluto! As a space nerd, the discovery of the long sought "Planet X", would be exciting on any day. Today, however, is a day commeration! Fortunately, it's cold outside, today. Appropriate for Pluto Day, no?

Thursday, February 10, 2005

Yesterday I read that Kim Jong Il was extremely displeased by the portrayal of him in "Team America: World Police". Then North Korea announces today that it officially has nuclear weapons! It stikes me as too close to be a coincidence. Could Kim be trying to shake his image as a blood-thirsty dictator bent on world destruction? If so, I can think of about a million better ways.

The next hunk of the BA's done... for now! That means a brief respite. Maybe I'll buy myself a present. Or maybe I'll just try and finish Resident Evil 4 ("You haven't finished it YET???" No! I'm writing a BA!). If you're curious, here's a photo of Israel's primary nuclear research facility, Dimona. I spent most of Tuesday night and yesterday until 5 writing about it. You can thank the French.

Tuesday, February 08, 2005

I'm sitting here in the Crerar compouter cluster trying to write part of my BA and it's not happening. The French-Israeli connection will have to wait until tomorrow. I sure hope I can get these next 10 pages done by Wednesday. And Enterprise is still cancelled. Boo hoo.

Thursday, February 03, 2005

It's a day as dark as the darkest matter, true believers. Star Trek: Enterprise got the ax. For the first time in 18 years, there will be no Star Trek on the air this coming Fall. I personally thought after Voyager ended that they may have rushed headlong into another series too quickly. It's not as though Enterprise (first two seasons, anyhow) would have kept them coming back, anyway.

I guess the big question now is not IF Star Trek will return, but when. Maybe that's being optimistic, but I think it's just a matter of time. Rick Berman thinks at least 3 years. I personally hope it's longer. The whole franchise needs to be aired out. I think the real debate is whether its best to ressurrect the current universe (maybe another 24th Century show), or to try some kind of "Battlestar Galactica style" reboot. I'd almost be in favor of the latter. I loved The Next Generation and DS9, but by the time Voyager rolled around, things were starting to feel pretty tired. I think there might really be something to say for a totally new take on the material, rather than just a revisitation to the same universe. I'm not sure distance will correct the problem.

Ronald Moore said:
"In some ways, the continuity of the show is starting to work against it. There is such a complete universe with so many characters that it's a bit daunting for new audiences." (You can read the whole thing here.)

Trekkies (Trekkers?) are already starting to cry bloody murder over the idea, but I think he might be right. I recently watched the first couple Star Trek movies and let me tell you, there's very little respect for continuity. Maybe that's too strong, but it's not the point of those films. It's just good story telling and fun, exciting characters. A reboot of some kind might give Star Trek room to breathe again. The thing that concerns me about a reboot is that the trend these days is to go dark and gritty. This, however, strikes me as antithethical to the spirit of Star Trek. It really works for Galactica, but I'm not sure that a hyper-military Star Trek would still be true to the source material (DS9, aside. Face it. Even on DS9, things never got too gritty.)

Either way, I think nothing is sacred if we're going to reapproach Star Trek. Nothing. I'd like to post further thoughts on this in the future, but here's what I'd like to see from some kind of reboot:
-Set in the 23rd Century
-Human beings, wide-eyed and exploring space
-Get rid of all the stupid technology. No transporters. No replicators. No holodecks. I'd even say "no artifical gravity" if I thought that would be affordable for television. We've got to kill what's been called the "gee whiz" factor. Today's audience has seen it all. I don't want anything to be "modulated" as a solution to ANYTHING.
-No more bumpy-nosed aliens of the week. Pointy ears and different color skin should not an alien race make.

To sum up, I think it's possible to do a show about exploration without getting mired in our expectations for what Star Trek should be. It's unlikely that anybody will listen to suggestions like this, but I think the universe is the problem. Not the continuity, per se, by the universe of expectations created by technnology and the aliens of the week type adventures. I do, however, think that getting rid of those problems may require killing the current continuity. Sad, but true.

I've kept this inside too long and it's time I came out and said it: I'm hooked on the new Battlestar Galactica. 'Whew'. That feels better. There's been a tremendous amount of debate over several of the changes made between the old '70's Galactica and this new incarnation, but frankly I think any discussion like that is largely pointless. "Oh no! Starbuck's a woman? You can't do that!" Like hell they can't. What's the fun of remaking the same show with better special effects? You give the creator (Star Trek alumn Ronald Moore) the chance to strut his stuff with a good concept that never got great execution.

I also should admit that I'd always been turned off by Galactica. Sci-fi TV prior to (probably) Next Gen just seems so absolutely cornball to me (excepting, of course, Star Trek TOS, Twilight Zone, Outer Limits). Galactica just seemed like a silly TV adventure show that's been long since dated. The new Galactica, however, is striking, exciting TV. Great drama included. Give it a look-see if you're in the neighborhood of the Sci-fi channel on Friday night. I'm going to post a couple of quick examples for you of the various improvements.